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UNCLE SAM TO MAKE ARMOUR TELL OF THE
CONDITIONS "BACKO'TH' YARDS"
J. Ogden Armour, the world's
greatest meat packer, head man over
an industry that -has 35,000 men and
women on its payrolls, was served
with a subpoena by Th6s. Egan,
sergeant-at-arms of the U. S. indus
trial relations commission.
At the same time one of Egan's
men served subpoena on John C.
Kennedy, former associate instructor
of economics in the University of
Chicago.
These two men will testify before
the commission about what is labor
unrest in the packing houses. Ken
nedy will teft what he saw when ht
made a survey back o' the yards twa
years ago.
How men fight for jobs at the gate
of the packing houses, how the low
wages paid the workers out of enor
mous profits drive those workers to
live in shuns and shanties Kennedy
will bring along the cold figures on
these things. He went into the houses
and talked with the people and saw
their slim wages and the mothers and
babies fighting for life against the
power of the world's greatest meat
packers.
And Ogden Armour will offer an
explanation why lie wants these
things the way they are. He lives on
a 1,400 acre estate at Lake Forest.
He rides down each day to the office
of Armour & Co.
Sitting back in the big leather seat,
he passes houses where the people
who work for him are trying to live
a little life before they die. He knows
what a naked and hungry battle it is
for these thousands of people who
work for him.
"Why are these things the way
they are and what do you say about
It to the people who have their heads
and hearts troubled about it?" is the
main question the industrial commis
sion will put in polite form to the
J)ig stockyards man.
A cool thirty million of dollars is
the amount of profits the Armour
company earned last year. And
though the profits are pfling bigger
and bigger each year, it will be shown
by the figured of Kennedy that there
has practically been no raise in wages
for ten years. Some of these figures
were cited by George Creel of the
industrial commission staff in a
speech at the Hotel Sherman a few
weeks ago.
Kennedy made this comment on
the situation Friday: "The commis
sion was appointed to inquire into
and find the causes of industrial un
rest. At a time when there are so
many people who dont have enough
proper food to nourish their bodies, it
is fitting that the commission should
call as a witness the one man who is
supreme in fixing the prices of meat
and controlling the food supply of
the nation."
The commission always asks mag
nates fike Armour whether they be
lieve labor unions are a good thing
and if not why not It is 13 years
since the last strike in Packingtown.
Mike Donnelly, the president of the
union that tied up the yards, was last
heard of in Kansas City working as
a ditch digger.
Phil Armour IIL returns to Chicago
next week after a trip with his bride
to California and Honolulu.
TELEGRAPH BRIEFS
Detroit, Stockholders of Detroit
United Railways authorized officers
to close negotiations with city of De
troit for sale of car lines to munic
ipality. Buffalo. Lake freighter Sir Thom
as O'Shaughnessy caught fire off .
breakwater. Extinguished. t
Atlanta, Ga, Frederick A. Hyde,
Oakland millionaire timber dealer,
finished three-year sentence in fed-,r
eral pen. Convicted of land fraiidsv '
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